Jorge Pulido received two yellow cards on Friday, including a second that conceded a decisive penalty kick as his Huesca lost 2-0 to Athletic Bilbao. But the weirdest moment of the match was when the Spanish center back found a cell phone — yes, a cell phone — on the pitch in the middle of the game.
Tottenham had a predictable 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace on Sunday that was so akin to previous Spurs games that The18 made a match report that can be filled out like a Mad Libs book.
As soon as the Liga MX final (Dec. 10 and 13) and MLS Cup (Dec. 12) finish, we’ll roll straight into the completion of the 2020 CONCACAF Champions League, which went on hiatus back in March at the quarterfinal stage because of the pandemic.
An Iranian player scored the furthest somersault throw-in goal that you will ever see during a Persian Gulf Pro League game on Monday.
The game was between Paykan and Gol Gohar. In the seventh-minute, Paykan unleashed its secret weapon. The Iranian club has a player who has never skipped arm day, has cannons for hands and can execute a perfect somersault throw-in.
Stuttgart attacker Silas Wamangituka was booked for unsporting conduct on Sunday after refusing to convert his open goal opportunity against Werder Bremen in a timely fashion.
The 21-year-old had already given Stuttgart the lead in the 30th-minute from the spot, and he was gifted an opportunity to put the game on ice after a horrible mix-up between Bremen defender Ömer Toprak and keeper Jiří Pavlenka.
Wamangituka gathered possession with the clock reading 90:08, but the ball didn’t strike the back of the net until 90:17 despite the attacker facing an empty goal.
This misshapen centre circle on a Brazilian soccer pitch was an unexpected surprise for local clubs.
But irregularities at the Jose Garbelini Stadium were not only limited to the centre circle. Clear deviations could also be seen in the halfway line as well.
The match between local clubs Cambe and Paranavai in the third division series in the southern Brazilian state of Parana went on despite the curiously shaped ring with referee Wagner Malveiro Silva noting "defective" line markings and a centre circle that did not fit "standards".
Soccer hasn't been the same without fans. The emotion just isn't there. The fake crowd noise is mediocre but matches without fan chatter (even the artificial kind) lack the sense of importance that the game is supposed to carry. It is tough to watch at times.
The one positive to empty stadiums? We have unprecedented access to the vocal expressions of the players on the pitch. Every bit of banter, every plea to the referee and every frustrated proclamation is audible to viewers at home.